Search : 500 result(s)
The Unraveling of Hezbollah’s Strategic Myth
Marwan El Amine 22/01 15:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Hezbollah Amal Hassan Nasrallah Lebanon Israel
Since its inception, Hezbollah has sought to transform Shia identity in Lebanon from a national one into an ideological one, anchored in Iran’s Wilayat al-Faqih doctrine of absolute loyalty to its supreme leader. Yet its attempts to tighten control over the Shia community through Tehran’s political ideology met significant obstacles, pushing ...
As Border Threats Evolve, Israel Turns to New Technologies
Seth J. Frantzman 21/01 15:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Israel Hezbollah Hamas AI Technology
Even though Israel may have militarily weakened Hamas and Hezbollah, it must still contend with increasingly complex and non-traditional security threats along every front, underscoring that today’s borders and battlefields are interconnected in ways that were once unimaginable. On January 7, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced that it ...
Hezbollah Parliamentary Bloc Head Meets President Aoun in Bid to Ease Tensions
This is Beirut 05/02 11:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Baabda Iran USA
Senior Hezbollah parliamentarian Mohammad Raad met President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace on Thursday as Hezbollah moved to de-escalate its dispute with the presidency. The visit, requested by Raad himself, marks a notable shift in tone following a period of near-freeze between the two sides and comes amid heightened regional ...
The Middle East Will Not Heal Until Iran Is Free
Rawan Osman 20/01 09:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Iran Tehran Protests Lebanon Syria Israel
As Iranians flood the streets in mass demonstrations, demanding freedom at extraordinary personal risk, a fundamental truth has become impossible to ignore. The Middle East cannot heal until Iran is free from the Islamist regime that has poisoned the region for nearly half a century. I came to this conclusion from lived experience, not ideology ...
Trump Says Hopes for Iran Deal After Khamenei Warns of Regional War
This is Beirut 01/02 20:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Iran UnitedStates Trump USIran
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was hopeful of agreeing to a deal with Iran after the country's supreme leader warned that any US attack on the Islamic republic would trigger a regional war. Following the Iranian authorities' deadly response to anti-government protests that peaked last month, Trump has threatened military action and ...
U.S., Iran Signal Readiness for Talks as Mediators Move to Arrange Ankara Meeting
This is Beirut 02/02 12:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Trump USA Khamenei Iran Israel Ankara
The United States and Iran have signaled openness to renewed negotiations aimed at easing escalating tensions, according to officials cited in multiple reports, as regional mediators work to organize a potential meeting in Ankara and Washington maintains a heightened military posture in the Middle East. A senior US official told Axios that ...
Iran: The Regime Falters as Fear Shifts
Natasha Metni Torbey 02/01 17:35 - Reading : 7 minute(s)
Iran economic crisis protests Mullahs Donald Trump Islamic Republic
In Iran, today’s protests are no longer a part of a long series of crises that the Islamic Republic has, over decades, contained through repression, intimidation, or external distraction. This is different: a deep, gradual, but now unmistakably visible erosion of the regime’s symbolic, ideological, and psychological foundations. This ...
Iran FM Says Second Round of Talks with U.S. 'Constructive'
This is Beirut 17/02 15:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday the latest talks with the United States saw them agree on "a set of guiding principles" that would pave the way for a deal. "Ultimately, we were able to reach broad agreement on a set of guiding principles, based on which we will move forward and begin working on the text of a ...
Israel Won the War, So Why Is the Muslim Brotherhood Winning the Peace?
Hussain Abdul-Hussain 20/01 13:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Israel Iran Hezbollah USA Muslim Brotherhood
The new regional order taking shape appears to be a haunting inversion of the post-9/11 era. At the time, the U.S. smashed Sunni powers, the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, incidentally empowering Iran and its sprawling proxy network. Washington even called Shia Islamism the more “reasonable” alternative and partnered with Tehran against ...
Israeli Defense Minister Says Israel Will Occupy South Lebanon Positions Until Hezbollah Disarms
This is Beirut 17/02 18:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Israel Lebanon Hezbollah Disarmament Israel Katz
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that Israeli forces will remain stationed at five occupied positions in southern Lebanon as long as Hezbollah retains weapons. Katz commented that “our presence at five points in southern Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire agreement, but we imposed it, and the United States accepted ...
What Are the U.S. Demands for Iran?
This is Beirut 29/01 03:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
As a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group “armada” approaches the Gulf and rhetoric intensifies between the Trump administration and Iranian officials, U.S. and European officials outline three demands to Iran, according to a New York Times report on Wednesday. The Nuclear Issue One demand is to reach an agreement on the nuclear issue; ...
Why Hezbollah’s Base Is Battling the President Digitally
Salam El Zaatari 25/01 12:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Joseph Aoun
If Lebanon were a normal country, the presidency would be the one place where politics slows down, where disputes are processed through institutions, where crises are turned into decisions, and where the state, at minimum, performs statehood. But Lebanon is not a normal country. And that is why the recent surge of pro-Hezbollah campaigning ...
Israel Sets Red Lines Ahead of U.S.-Iran Talks as Witkoff Visits Jerusalem
This is Beirut 03/02 12:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Israel Iran USA Trump NuclearTalks Turkey USIran
Israel is seeking firm assurances from Washington ahead of anticipated U.S.-Iran talks on Friday in Turkey, with Israeli officials signaling that any agreement falling short of dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities would be unacceptable. The issue will be central to meetings in Jerusalem on Tuesday, as U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle ...
Netanyahu: Iran Deal Must Eliminate Enrichment, Curb Ballistic Missiles
This is Beirut 16/02 10:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Iran Israel USA Trump Netanyahu NuclearTalks
Netanyahu on Sunday publicly reinforced Israel’s red lines, saying any agreement with Iran must include the removal of all enriched uranium from Iranian territory, the dismantling of Tehran’s enrichment infrastructure, strict inspections, and limits on Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities. Speaking in Jerusalem at a conference ...
Turkey Says Washington and Tehran Showing New Flexibility as Nuclear Talks Resume
This is Beirut 12/02 14:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Tehran Turkey Washington Donald Trump Gulf USIran NuclearTalks
Turkey’s foreign minister said the United States and Iran are displaying rare signs of pragmatism in efforts to revive negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program, suggesting Washington may now be prepared to tolerate limited uranium enrichment under strict conditions. In an interview with the Financial Times published Thursday, Hakan ...
U.S. to Resume Iran Nuclear Talks After Brief Cancellation Signal
This is Beirut 04/02 23:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
United States Iran Trump Oman Nuclear Talks
Senior U.S. officials said on Wednesday that they will proceed with plans to convene in Muscat, Oman on Friday to discuss the nuclear issue after reports earlier in the day signaled a cancellation of the talks. The U.S. has modified its position on the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks after nine Arab and Muslim countries lobbied for U.S. participation ...
London Based Persian TV to Air 'Truth' About Iran Protests Despite Threats
This is Beirut 27/01 09:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
United Kingdom IranProtests HumanRights Journalism Iran
Journalists at the Persian-language TV station Iran International in London have been working flat out, vowing to "show the truth" about the protests in Iran, despite threats against them and their families. The private broadcaster, housed in a heavily secured building in west London, was labeled a "terrorist" organization by Tehran in 2022, ...
Lebanon PM Says Won't Allow Country to be Dragged into New Conflict
This is Beirut 03/02 11:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon Nawaf Salam Dubai World Government United Arab Emirates
Lebanon's prime minister said Tuesday he will not allow his country to be dragged into a new conflict, after Hezbollah warned any attack on its Iranian backer would be an attack on the group. "We will never allow anyone to drag the country into another adventure," Nawaf Salam said during the World Governments Summit in Dubai, in ...
Iran Court Sentences 14 Protesters to Death in Online Proceedings
This is Beirut 16/02 15:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Iran HumanRights IranProtests Germany
According to sources who spoke to Iran International, an Iranian court has handed down death sentences to 14 individuals accused of participating in last month’s anti-government protests in proceedings conducted online. The virtual hearings were overseen by Judge Abolghasem Salavati, head of Branch 15 of Iran’s Revolutionary Court, a ...
Syrian Government, SDF Announce Four-Day Truce as SDF Pulls Guards from Al-Hol
This is Beirut 20/01 16:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced a four-day truce on Tuesday while SDF guards monitoring the Al-Hol camp retreated from their posts. Just before the truce, SDF personnel guarding the Al-Hol camp in northeast Syria withdrew from their posts to be redeployed to other cities in the ...
Syria's Leader Agrees Truce With Kurds After Govt Troops Advance
This is Beirut 19/01 09:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country's north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes ...
Hezbollah’s Loyalty to Iran Has Become Its Liability
Salam El Zaatari 29/01 09:10 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Hezbollah Lebanon Israel Tehran Washington
Naim Qassem’s latest speech sought to project certainty at a moment of regional flux. Instead, it revealed Hezbollah’s deepest fear: that its patron, Iran, may choose negotiation over confrontation and survival over its proxies. The Hezbollah leader declared that his organization would not remain neutral if Iran were attacked, framing any ...
January 2026: What the Surge in Israeli Strikes in Lebanon Signals
This is Beirut 03/02 13:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
January 2026 marked a sharp escalation in Israeli military activity in Lebanon, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducting 87 airstrikes, more than double the number recorded in December 2025. It was the most active month since the ceasefire of November 27, 2024, underscoring a shift in operational tempo even as Israel maintains that its ...
Military Court Sentences Nouh Zeaiter in Limited Rulings, Leaving Broader Case Open
This is Beirut 03/02 17:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Lebanon NouhZeaiter Hezbollah MilitaryCourt
Lebanon’s Permanent Military Court on Tuesday issued its first batch of rulings in the sprawling judicial case of Nouh Zeaiter, convicting him in four security-related cases and sentencing him to one month in prison for each, while acquitting him in three files and dropping prosecution in 33 others due to the statute of limitations. The court ...
De-Radicalizing Hezbollah's Base: A Realist Framework
Salam El Zaatari 2025-12-29 13:15 - Reading : 8 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Lebanese Army Washington
Any serious discussion about de-radicalizing Hezbollah supporters must begin by discarding comforting illusions about the organization. It is not a fringe extremist group operating on the margins of Lebanese society but a heavily armed political-military organization embedded in parliament, municipalities, unions, border economies, and a regional ...
Israel to Partially Reopen Gaza's Rafah Crossing on Sunday
This is Beirut 30/01 23:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Israel announced it would reopen the crucial Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday after months of urging from the UN, humanitarian organisations and ordinary Palestinians -- but only for the "limited movement of people". Earlier on Friday, the Islamist movement Hamas had called for the "immediate transition to the second phase" of the ...
Syria Defense Ministry Says Army Has Taken Control of Al-Tanf Base After U.S. Pullout
This is Beirut 12/02 14:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Damascus United States USA Washington White House
Syria's defence ministry said on Thursday that the army had taken control of the Al-Tanf base after the withdrawal of US forces deployed there as part of the coalition against the Islamic State group. "Through coordination between the Syrian and American sides," army units have taken control of the base "and have begun ...
The Iranian Diaspora: A Key Force in a Globalized Protest
Sana Richa Choucair 14/01 12:55 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
As Iran’s authorities scramble to repress a growing uprising through violence and information blackouts, the country’s diaspora has emerged as a crucial front in the confrontation with the regime, combining media outreach, international lobbying, and economic leverage. Since December 28, 2025, Iran has been gripped by a wave of protests of ...
Turkey's Erdogan Visits Saudi as Ties Between Former Rivals Warm
This is Beirut 04/02 09:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Turkey Gulf Israel Palestine Saudi Arabia
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Riyadh on Tuesday in his first visit in more than two years, as ties warm between Saudi Arabia and its rival-turned-ally. Ankara hopes to "finalise negotiations towards a free trade agreement between Turkey and the member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)", the Turkish presidency said. "The two ...
Lebanon’s Lost Coast: How Public Rights Became Privileges for the Few
Natasha Metni Torbey 16/01 11:05 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Lebanon’s coastline, which belongs to the state and is considered maritime public domain, is once again in the spotlight. On Tuesday, the cabinet reopened debate on this long-neglected national asset, directing relevant state bodies to coordinate efforts to increase revenues from these seaside properties. The discussion reflected a widely ...